With money still tight, especially for small and medium sized business, there's some comfort in the fact that money is available for worker training, development, and retention.  Here are two examples that may be helpful to central NJ employers.

Training grants are available through the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development.  As an example, here's a recent press release.

Individual businesses or a business consortium led by educational institutions, non-profit organizations, trade associations, and labor unions are eligible to apply for grants on an on-going basis. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development will match interested applicants with a Business Representative who will provide assistance throughout the application process.

The Greater Raritan Workforce Investment Board [GRWIB, or just WIB, for short], “make[s] available a wide array of employment-related programs and services that facilitate the potential of all job seekers for self-sustaining employment at a level consistent with the standards of the community's rapidly growing corporate sector.”

The WIB is a public-private partnership that serves Somerset and Hunterdon counties.

The WIB also partners with the Somerset County Business Partnership.

So help is available.  If you're unsure where to start, give a call to the Business Partnership, which will be happy to get you pointed in the right direction.